SIXTEEN barangays are currently awaiting the final decision of the Commision on Elections (COMELEC) after the Barangay and Sangguninang Kabataan Elections (BKSE) as said barangays did not have any valid candidates to elect to the appropriate seats.
These barangays are Quezon Hill Proper, City Camp Proper, Engineers Hill, DPS Compound, Lower General Luna, Hillside, Mines View, Harrison-Carantes, Upper QM, Magsaysay Private Road, Quirino Magsaysay Lower, Lower Lourdes, Balsigan, Atok Trail, Country Club Village, and Aurora Hill North Central.
Baguio Election Officer John Paul Martin said that these 16 barangays did not have candidates for SK chairman and kagawads or councilors, rendering the COMELEC at an impasse in decision-making.
Martin said that based on Section 5 of Republic Act 11768, which amended the SK Reform Act of 2015 effective May of 2022, the succession rule applies or an officer-in-charge shall be appointed.
He said that in case a barangay does not have a candidate for SK chairman but has candidates for kagawads, the highest vote-getter shall be the chairman.
In barangays that do not have a candidate for SK chairman and councilor, a special election will be held or officials shall be appointed in line with the SK Reform Act of 2015.
However, the COMELEC is currently unable to come up with a final course of action to take for these 16 barangays, whose seats will remain empty indefinitely without action.
